


Together is the best place to be

by spinningthreads



Category: S.C.I.谜案集 | S.C.I. Mystery (TV)
Genre: M/M, Moving In Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:53:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25410451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spinningthreads/pseuds/spinningthreads
Summary: The question doesn't come out quite the way he planned, but Zhao Zhen figures it's okay. It may be a bit nerve-wracking, but who cares about nerves anyway?
Relationships: Bái Chí/Zhào Zhēn
Comments: 10
Kudos: 37
Collections: Parallels Fanworks Exchange 2020





	Together is the best place to be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mara/gifts).



"Zhao Zhen."

He went still at the sound of his name, smoothing out his expression so Bai Chi couldn't see his chagrin. He might have been overdoing it, an apology for stealing Bai Chi's keys and letting himself into Bai Chi's flat back when they first met might not have been the smartest thing he could have come up with right now. "Mm?"

Bai Chi was watching him with what was, for him, a very suspicious look: forehead furrowed, eyes narrowed slightly, hand half in the air as Lisbon waited patiently for him to throw the toy he was holding. "Are you alright?"

Damn it. Yep, he'd overdone it. "I'm fine. Why?"

"That's the third time you've apologised to me today. What's going on?"

"Nothing," he replied innocently, uncrossing his legs to cross them the other way instead, forcing himself to remain casual. Any obvious reaction would just have Bai Chi focusing on it more and when Bai Chi focused on something, he focused _hard_. There were times that focus was a heady pleasure, he would admit: Bai Chi examining his hands in an attempt to figure out the fire being a very good example. Now, though, it was... inconvenient. "Are you going to throw that for Lisbon or not? It's not fair to keep her hanging, Bai Chi."

Bai Chi blinked, looked down at the German Shepherd sitting at his feet, tail thumping lightly against the floor, then scratched her ears before throwing the toy. "Sorry, Lisbon."

_Ah, safe._

"You want something," Bai Chi said, expression now even more suspicious than before. Damn it.

_Not safe!_

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do. You want something and it's something to do with me. What is it?"

Oh, Bai Chi had _learned_. No open ended offers to help however he could, which would have been easier. Possibly he'd used that trick too many times and Bai Chi was wise to it now. Blast, he'd wanted Bai Chi relaxed and off guard for this, at ease and feeling benevolent towards him and now he was fully alert instead. Maybe that was for the best, though: he _was_ trying to be less like his uncle, after all, and trying to slide this one by Bai Chi wasn't that.

"What makes you say that?" 

"You've apologised three times," Bai Chi repeated, holding three fingers up in front of him to back up the statement. " _Three_."

"Were they not things I should apologise for?" 

"That's not the point!" Bai Chi protested. "I mean, they were, but... You never apologise and now you have three times in an afternoon. It's weird. You're not acting like you normally do."

And Bai Chi noticed when someone's behaviour changed, because it threw him off. Of course he would notice this. Okay, fine. "Move in."

Bai Chi froze, fingers tightening in Lisbon's fur and staring at him like he'd grown another head. "What?"

"Move in. You're here all the time anyway, so why not?"

"But-"

"I'm just here by myself," he added, with an exaggerated pout. "Just me and Lisbon, no one to take care of me." Never mind that he was an adult and more than capable of looking after himself, it just wasn't the same with Uncle Meng... gone. The memories were bittersweet now, forever shadowed by all the things Uncle Meng had done that he hadn't been able to stop. Or, if he were more honest, that he'd turned a blind eye to in order to win other battles keeping him in check.

"You have a housekeeper," Bai Chi protested. "And it's so far from the station."

"Not the same thing," he said loftily. "He doesn't live here." Which was probably for the best, all things considered, but it didn't make the place feel any less lonely. "And I'd drop you off and pick you up, if you wanted. Lisbon would like having you here as well. She likes your scritches better than mine."

"But-" Bai Chi said again, looking lost and more overwhelmed than Zhao Zhen liked. Still, he wasn't worrying at any of his fingers or displaying any other outward signs of distress in spite of that confusion, so that was a good sign.

"Think about it," he said, waving a hand dismissively, as if weren't anything all that important. "You don't have to answer right away. Think about it."

_Please, actually think about it._

"Ah... okay," Bai Chi replied slowly, fingers relaxing again to comb through the fur at Lisbon's neck. "I will."

Zhao Zhen smiled, hoping it wasn't _too_ triumphant a smile. If Bai Chi said he'd think about it, it wasn't just a brush off, he really would consider it. And once he'd thought about it, Zhao Zhen was confident about his answer, Bai Chi just needed time to get there and he could be patient for that. Though, maybe they could get another place instead? A house without all the tainted memories of this one, a place they could start over fresh and make memories of their own. It might not even matter where they were; as long as Bai Chi was there with him, it would be a place that was _theirs_ , but a fresh start was still appealing. Maybe he should shelve that suggestion for another day, though, he thought, tucking his hair behind an ear as he watched Bai Chi throw the toy for Lisbon again, his eyes distant as he thought it over. They could discuss it properly when Bai Chi wasn't caught off guard, rather than dropping it on him now on top of everything else.

It wasn't something they needed to rush, after all.


End file.
